Be careful what you wish for...

[merimask]

First of all, big happy birthday wishes for empath_eia,  who is a constant source of sunshine and light on my f-list. She deserves puppies and rainbows and everything nice today. :-)

Yesterday was an unfortunate day for me. I finally bought my new bike...and I hate it. HATE. IT.

I guess I'm spoiled. About five years ago I bought my Trek hybrid, when the technology was still new. It was a basic model but it was pretty much cutting edge back then, even without the bells and whistles. See, a hybrid is just that; it's like a cross between a racing bike and a mountain bike. It has the suspension and the same number of gears as a mountain bike, but the gear ratio and the wheels of a racing bike. The tires are somewhere in between (fatter and sturdier than a racer, with some heavier tread like a mountain bike but not as thick or heavy). Hybrids are perfect for long distance rides (my thing) and can take a dirt or gravel trail in stride without catching an edge and throwing you.

The technology has apparently advanced greatly in the last five years. My old bike has no front fork shocks, a steel frame, and (the most annoying thing) single-wall construction wheels, which means every time I hit something big (large rock, curb, road hazard) my wheel gets bent a bit. But it's fast as heck and it's red and I love it. I've put at least 2000 miles on it since I got it. Still, it's getting a bit worn and I have felt the need for a new hybrid recently.

SO, the new Trek hybrids are spiffy looking with solid aluminum frames (supposed to be lightweight), double construction steel wheels (will never bend out of true), shocks in the front fork AND seat post...all these cool things have been making me drool for about 2 years. I picked out a Trek 73000 yesterday. Top of the line with all the premium features including a bunch I didn't mention...

...and I LOATHE it. It's slow. It drags. It actually weighs more than my old bike. Riding it is like pedaling through peanut butter. The gear ratio sucks. In order to get the speed I have on my old bike, using the same cycling cadence, I have to kick the new bike up into 7th or 8th gear and it has a ton of resistance so it's hard to sustain. Once you stop pedaling, there is no coasting, you slow right the hell down as if you were coasting up a hill...even if you're not. The brakes are mushy ON PURPOSE...there's a little spring in there that forces you to squeeeeze until they engage (and I don't know about you but when I need to stop my bike I like to STOP. If I want to slow gradually I'll adjust by not squeezing the brake as much, thank you). It's just hateful.

I guess the new hybrids are more like mountain bikes and less like racers, and I feel the need for speed. Yeah, it's all pretty and flashy and sexy, but it's just no fun at all to ride. My old bike is a bit beat up (it looks like something chewed on it, because of all the thrown pebbles and such...full of chips and dings), but when I'm on it I fly, I have balance and speed and it feels like an extension of myself. This new bike makes me feel like I'm cycling underwater.

Plus, it's not red. It isn't even available in red. *pout*

If I'm going to spend 500 bucks on a new bike, it better be at least as cool as my old bike. AND be red. I'm taking the damn thing back.

Comments

[empath-eia.livejournal.com]

Yaayyy, thank you! *hugs Meri* I'm still not sure what Mom has planned, but she's excited so I suspect it's gonna be good. XD

Sorry about the bike woes... definitely take it back. There's no sense owning something like that if you'd rather ride your old one, now is there? :) *hugs*

Thanks again.

[merimask.livejournal.com]

I hope your day is extra-special. :-) And I'm sending something in the mail...it'll leave tomorrow so don't expect it for a week (mailing stuff to Canada is for some reason extremely difficult for the US mail to do efficiently).

The bike-thing sucks HARD. You have no idea how upset I was yesterday. But, I've remedied the situation (I'm a "fixer") and returned the 73000 and ordered a new model. More expensive, but I'm serious about my bike trips and so it's totally worth it to me.

[golden-meliades.livejournal.com]

That would make me want to cry. It'd be like buying a new computer and finding out it CAME with a virus that ate all your files as soon as you transferred them from your old computer. In self-defence, I don't even think I can think about it...

[merimask.livejournal.com]

Goldie...*shakes head*...you must have some kind of psychic connection with me. This isn't the first time you absolutely nailed how I felt, emotionally, about an issue (I specifically remember an entry I made about the custody thing, and you said you felt sick to your stomach reading about it...and that's precisely how I felt when I was writing about it!).

I WAS in tears yesterday, I was so disappointed. I'd wanted that bike for SO long and it was all wrong. Plus, when I tried to explain what was wrong with it, everyone just looked at me like I was nuts and wondered what the heck I was talking about. I'm pretty sure my husband thought I'd gone completely crackers.

Anyway, toda I went to a ~good~ bike dealership and talked to a person (who used to know my Dad, who was the most serious bicyclist EVER) that knew what was what. Turns out that model of the Trek hybrid 7000 series that *I* was steered towards is all wrong for serious road trips because it's based on a "cruiser" design. The fork is way forward, so your balance is off center (especially when you turn) and the seat is ~right~ above the pedals...not a good thing when combined with an upright posture because you only push ~down~ with your feet, instead of down and forward, which uses more muscle groups. Explains why my power was so low.

So, long story short; I'm not nuts! The physics behind that model are way off. I ordered a new bike, one that's much more suited to my purposes. It'll be here in a few days, and I'll babble incessantly about it then. :-)

[golden-meliades.livejournal.com]

Well I read your entry and you said you were angry, but as I was reading it, all I could think was WAAAAAHHHH! Lol. Because I've had things like that happen. You spend way more money than you'd ever carelessly spend, and then it turns out that the thing you spent it on...which you THOUGHT was completely worth it...is useless, meaning you not only don't have the thing you wanted and needed, but you've more or less thrown money into the trash...AND you're still lacking the item you need.

It's just a really upsetting thought.

I'm glad you found someone who knew what was up :) Anyone who doesn't specialize in something you spend a LOT of time doing won't understand the subtle things about it. Did you get your money back? I sure hope so :)

[merimask.livejournal.com]

Yep, I got my money back. :-) There was a seven day return policy and I just bought it yesterday. Plus, I used my handy Trek credit card (can you guess I spend a bit of cash on my bicycle bug?) so all they had to do was credit the account.

So yay me!

[pzb.livejournal.com]

Damn hon, that sucks about the bike. I love my hybrid (it's a K2 Alturas 3.0, but last year's model...it's interesting...the website calls it a "fitness", not a hybrid.... ) It's a bit on the heavy side, but I can still get some good speed on it....

Good luck with the exchange...hope you find one that let's you fly. :D

[merimask.livejournal.com]

*hug* I looked at some fitness bikes today (a bit like a hybrid but sportier, more like a road bike but with pretty big tires) but I picked out...well...a super-duper spiffy ultra cool Trek hybrid that was ~exactly~ what I needed in the first place. I'll gush more later, but it is SOCOOL and it's coming in two days.

And it's red! :-D

[rumdiculous.livejournal.com]

Oh man, I feel your bike woe. I had this bike (my first mountain bike) and it was so cool. It stopped on a dime, was a rose color, had five speeds, and would fly. When I got the bike up to a certain speed I could let go of the handle bars and the bike would steer straight for miles on even surface. I got to where I could do tricks on that bike. My favorite tick was getting up a certain speed by going downhill, standing up on one pedal and 'laying' across the bike seat with my other leg extended behind me. It was like figure skating, only downhill on a bike. :P I could also rest my legs on the handlebars and put my hands behind my back....it's a wonder I never ate gravel from all those stupid tricks.

But when we moved, we somehow lost the flipping bike. And since then I've never gotten replacement. *sigh*

[merimask.livejournal.com]

You need a bike! I happen to know where you can find an awesome, very used but VERY fast hybrid... ;-) For free! To a good home only.

But you'd have to promise no gravel-eating.

[rumdiculous.livejournal.com]

Ya know, now that I'm older, I don't think I'm going to try any of those moves again. That could suck horribly if I wrecked. And knowing me, I would.